The feud between MJF and CM Punk is taken into account by many to be one in every of, if not one of the best feuds within the history of AEW. The 2 men cut a series of now iconic promos on one another, wrestled in two of essentially the most memorable matches in AEW’s short history, and created a story that continues to be celebrated by fans of All Elite Wrestling to today.
At its core, the feud was built on MJF feeling abandoned by Punk because the “Second City Saint” was one in every of MJF’s favorites growing up, but Punk walked away from wrestling at a time where MJF needed someone to look as much as. The present AEW World Champion was asked in regards to the feud during a recent appearance on the “Insight” podcast with Chris Van Vliet, and it’s secure to say that there is no such thing as a love lost on MJF’s side. “I loved CM Punk growing up and now if he was dying in front of me, I’d do nothing but laugh…Do not get me unsuitable, I like CM Punk matches too, I just think he’s a bit of s***.”
Despite how he feels about Punk as an individual, MJF does have a level of respect for him within the ring, which he explained by stating that being within the ring with the present WWE World Heavyweight Champion taught him some very necessary things. “I also won’t sit here and I deceive you and let you know I didn’t learn a lot through my hatred of that man. I learned the difference between good and great. That is what I learned. Now, do I like him? Again, I’ll reiterate, no. I would not p*** on him if he was on fire to place that fireplace out, but I’m not going to take a seat here and pretend I didn’t learn from him.”
MJF Questions Some Things That CM Punk Has Said
During CM Punk’s time with AEW, he took loads of shots at WWE. His first promo in AEW touched on how WWE made him sick and he needed to improve, that he left skilled wrestling when he left Ring of Honor in 2005, and even during his feud with MJF he made fun of WrestleMania for being a “Buy one get one free extravaganza.” A whole lot of Punk’s promos from his AEW run have been clipped and shared across social media by fans who consider him to be something of hypocrite, but does MJF think Punk is a hypocrite?
“I hope he’s in a position to enjoy what he’s accomplishing over there. I do not know since the things that he said in my company do go against the things that he’s saying now. Some people might say that is hypocritical, that is not my place. All I do know is since I’ve jumped into pro wrestling, I have been saying the identical thing because the jump. My tune has not modified. I’m Maxwell Jacob Friedman and I’m higher than you and it.”
The feud between Punk and MJF was set to proceed after the AEW All Out pay-per-view in September 2022, where Punk regained the AEW World Championship from Jon Moxley. Nevertheless, the now infamous “Brawl Out” incident between Punk and The Elite modified all of that as Punk would get himself suspended while also being injured within the match with Moxley. MJF would find yourself dethroning Moxley for the title at that 12 months’s Full Gear pay-per-view in November, kickstarting his now record-setting first reign because the AEW World Champion which he’s seeking to surpass together with his current reign.
Please credit “Insight” when using quotes from this text, and provides a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.